PIL, the container liner shipping company ranked 12th in the global market, is getting a new CEO. Lars Kastrup is stepping down from the Singapore-based shipping company, which operates a fleet of 102 vessels.
Wan Chee Foong was initially appointed Deputy CEO yesterday. According to PIL, he is set to take over the CEO role from Lars Kastrup in April. The outgoing CEO will subsequently take on an advisory role for the Board of Directors.
The shipping company stated that this appointment “marks the conclusion of a thorough succession process led by the Board of Directors, during which both internal and external candidates from around the world were considered”. Wan will now work closely with Kastrup and the management team and gradually take on responsibility for the group’s commercial, operational and strategic priorities. The composition of the management team, which reports directly to the CEO, remains unchanged.
The future CEO is moving from Temasek to PIL. Previously, he held roles at the terminal operator PSA, including Regional CEO for the Middle East and South Asia and Head of Group Business & Commercial Development. He was also CEO of PSA BDP, PSA’s global supply chain solutions division.
“He combines this experience with in-depth expertise in the investment sector,” PIL added in explaining the appointment. Wan worked at Temasek in the transport and logistics sector from 2003 to 2012, where his roles included supporting the establishment of SeaTown Holdings. At Temasek, he is currently Managing Director for Corporate Strategy. He began his professional career at Singapore Airlines.
With Kastrup, an experienced shipping manager is stepping down from the CEO role. After holding positions at major container line operators such as Maersk, APL and CMA CGM, he joined PIL as a Senior Advisor in July 2020. In 2021, he became Co-President and Executive Director. A year later, he was appointed CEO.
In its statement, PIL goes on to list a number of achievements that were realised under Kastrup’s leadership:
- Restoring and securing profitability: the Group’s EBITDA rose from US$558 million in the 2023 financial year to US$1.50 billion in the 2025 financial year; net profit after tax amounted to US$1.04 billion in the 2025 financial year, with turnover of US$4.27 billion.
- Fleet renewal: Capacity grew by more than 50 per cent to around 500,000 TEU as PIL replaced smaller vessels with larger and more efficient units – including ten LNG dual-fuel vessels, which are due to be delivered by the first half of 2026. A further eighteennew-build LNG dual-fuelvessels and fourteen long-term charter vessels are due to be delivered by 2029.
Commenting on the announced change, Kastrup said: “When I took on this role, I was entrusted with a company founded in 1967 by the Teo family, run by employees across generations and now supported by shareholders committed to the company’s next chapter. My aim was to strengthen the company’s resilience, discipline and performance so that it could operate successfully through all phases of the industry cycles. Thanks to a supportive Board of Directors, our staff onshore and at sea, and our partners, PIL now boasts a modernised fleet, a largely in-house agency network, a solid balance sheet and the trust of its customers. On this basis, the time is now right for a handover.”
